Foundation garment



Nov. 4, 1941. M. GOODMAN ETAL FOUNDAT I ON GARMEN T Filed April 2'5, 19:59

ATTO R N EY Patented Nov. 4, 1941 FOUNDATION GAEMEN T Martin Goodman, New York, and David Lance, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignors to The Ncatform Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation oi' New York Application April 25, 1939, Serial No. 269,842

3 Claims.

This invention realtes to foundation garments, and more particularly to an elastic girdle for wear by women.

The primary object of our invention is to generally improve foundation garments, and a more particular object is to provide such garments with suitable means for waist control. 'Ihe invention is more especially applicable to the modern type of foundation garment, commonly called a girdle, this garment being only waist-high, and in most cases being elastic, as, for example, by making the same of tubular knit Lastex thread. In accordancewith our invention, the girdle is additionally provided with a belt-like member of substantial width at the front and preferably tapering` to narrow ends at the back, said ends being provided with suitable means for adjusting the circumferential dimension of the beltlike member and thereby controlling the waist of the wearer.

A further object of the present invention is to provide abdominal support with a View to eliminating any projection or spill-over at the top edge of the girdle, thereby aiding in producing the desired smooth, at or taut waist eect. With this object in view the belt-like member comprises an `inelastic panel at the front, this panel preferably being provided with generally upright bones or stays. The extensions of the belt-like member at either side of the panel are preferably made of thin, flexible fabric in order not to increase the apparent waistline of the wearer.

Still another object is to produce a reducing action in order to minimize fat at the abdomen, and for this purpose the aforesaid front panel is preferably made of a rubber or rubberized reducing fabric. At the same time the upper edge of the girdle is preferably cut down to expose a greater portion of the abdomen to the action of the reducing fabric.

Further features and objects of our invention.

center about the adjusting means for the beltlike member. The ends of the belt may be adjustably connected directly to one another, but if they are not connected to the girdle there may be a tendency for the belt-like member to rise above the girdle at the back. We therefore prefer to connect the ends of the belt-like member directly to the girdle, and in order to make this connection releasable and adjustable, the ends are provided with hooks and the girdle is provided with differently spaced eyelets, some or others of which may be used depending upon the desired waist dimension. More specifically, we

employ two tapes of eyelets, these tapes being arranged in V formation and being secured together, as well as to the girdle at their lower ends, thereby avoiding application of the waist control pressure to the elastic girdle material.

With this arrangement the ends of the belt-like t member are brought downwardly, as well as inwardly when the belt is tightened.

Still another object of the invention is to avoid interference with the natural stretch of the elastic girdle when the belt is released, as when drawing the girdle on. With this object in View the belt-like member is permanently secured to the girdle solely at the front. The front panel may itself be securedto the girdle at a plurality of points, but in such case the points are so spaced that the panel is in slack condition when the girdle is unstretched or contracted, thereby allowing for stretch of the girdle in the region of the panel.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, our invention consists in the girdle elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The

specification is accompanied by a drawing, in which:

Fig. 1vshows our improved girdle in use;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one form of foundation garment embodying features of our invention, the garment being in at and unstretched condition;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same in fiat and unstretched condition; V

Fig.,4 is a top View of the garment when in the condition shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken inthe plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken in the plane of the line 8-6 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, the foundation garment comprises a girdle body I2`and a belt-like member I 4, said member being of substantial width atthe frontand tapering to narrow ends at the back. The front part of the member I4 is preferably a boned panel I6, and this panel may, if desired, be made of rubber reducing fabric. The girdle Vbody I2 may be an ordinary tubular knit elastic girdle made of Lastex or like thread, and in the specific .case here shown it is designed for two-way stretch. The belt-like member i4 is substantialiy inelastic and makes it possible to control the waistline of the wearer, thereby producing a.

slenderizing effect on the waist without any of the restraint and inconvenience caused by the more conventional corsets.

Considering the garment in greater detail, and referring now to Figs. 2 through 5. the belt-like member I4 comprises front panel Il which is substantially inelastic, and in the present case is made of so-called reducing fabric, this being a combination of rubber and fabric perforated with small holes. The holes are too small and too widely spaced for thorough ventilation. The panel I6 is provided with suitable upright bones or stays I8, there being three such stays in the present case. These are suitably held in place, as by means of tape covering strips 20 on'the inside oi the panel, as is best shown in Fig.-3.

The belt-like member I4 further comprises two generally triangular fabric portions 22. These are sewed to the side edges of the panel, as is indicated at 24 in Figs. 2 and 5. 'I'he fabric sections 22 converge from a width equal to the height of the panel at one end to a comparatively small tip at the other end, as is indicated at 26 in Fig. 3 and 26 in Fig. 2. The broken line showing in Fig. 2 indicates how the fabric section is entirely free of the girdle body I2 and may be swung outwardly away from the same.

The ends 28 are adjustably connected in order to control the waistline of the wearer. They might be connected directly together, as by means of a buckle and strap, but it is preferable that they be connected to the girdle body I2, as well as to one another. in order to prevent the back part of the belt-like member from moving upwardly above the girdle body. In the present case the ends are provided with hooks 28 and these are preferably connected to the ends 26 through an elastic tape'l. The hooks 28 are adapted to be received in any one of a number of pairs of differently spaced eyelets 32, 34, 36. The eyelets are most conveniently provided by using eyeletted tapes 38 (Figs. 3 and 6). Two short lengths of this eyelettedtape are stitched in converging relationship on the back of the girdle, as by means of lines of stitching running along the edges of the tapes. The lower ends of the tapes are preferably sewed together, as well as to the girdle, as is indicated at 45. This prevents the pull of the belt-like member I4 from being transmitted to a small localized area of the yieldable girdle body. It will be evident that the belt-like member is given its maximum peripheral dimension when the hooks are placed in the eyelets 32, and is given an intermediate dimension when the hooks are placed in eyelets 34, and is given its minimum dimensionwhen the hooks are placed in eyelets 36. It will be observed that the hooks are brought downwardly as well as inwardly, and this is desirable in order to aid in confining the flesh of the wearer from bulging at the-top edge of the girdle when the waist is confined to a greater extent.

When the stiiiened front panel I is made of rubberized reducing fabric as in the present case, it is desirable to cut down the upper edge of the girdle body I2 at the front, as is indicated bythe dotted line 42 in Figs.v 2 and 3,

because in this way a greater area of the ab- 4 domen is exposed to the reducing action of the rubberized panel. The top edge of the girdle is, of course, finished in the usual way by means of an elastic binding tape 44, and this binding tape preferably extends around the girdle.

interfere with stretching and self-adjustment of the girdle body, the belt-like member is prefer- In order for the texture member u not to l5 ably secured to the girdle body solely at the front and at the back. The connection at the back-consists of the hooks and eyelets previously referred to. and this is not only an adjustable. but also a fully releasable connection. By leaving the belt unhooked, the girdle is readily drawn into position on the wearer, following which the belt may be hooked. 'I'he connection between the belt-like member and the girdle at the i'r'ont is a permanent one and is indicated by the stitching 46 in Fig. 2. This stitching is confined to the bottom edge of the panel at the center of the same. If desired, the lower corners of the panel may also be sewed to the girdle and such a connection is indicated at 48 in Fig. 5. Thus the panel is secured to the girdle at three spaced points, but in such case the spac ing is so selected that the panel is in a very slack or pleated condition, as is indicated at 50 in Figs. 4 and 5 when the girdle is in contracted or unstretched condition. This allows for the desired stretch of the girdle when it is drawn into position on the wearer.

The stitching 48 at the corners may extend vertically for a short distance, as is indicated at 4B in Fig. 2, in order to tend to hold the panel in its proper upright position. The distance is short because the top of the girdle is cut down, as shown at 42. The stitching 48 at one only of the two corners is visible in Fig. 2, the other being concealed by the fold 50 of the panel.

The garment is completed in the present case by the provision of front and back garters 52. These garters are entirely conventional in character and are attached through elastic connections 54. The lower edge 'ofthe girdle body I2 is preferably finished by an elastic binding 56. It will be understood that the use of garters is entirely optional, and that the garment may be manufactured and sold in both forms, that is, with and without garters.

The elastic tapes Il for the hooks 28 are preferably made of a stout elastic of adequate strength despite 'the comparatively narrow width. A wider elastic maybe used by making the base of the hook wider and the slot therein longer.

It is believed that the construction and method of use, as well as the many advantages of our improved foundation garment will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description thereof. I t will also be apparent that while we have shown and described our invention in a preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A tubular knit elastic girdle having waist control means thereon, said waist control means being a substantially inelastic belt-like member of substantial width at the front and tapering to narrow ends at the back, releasable means at the back for adjusting the circumferential di mension of the -belt-like member, the belt-like member comprising an inelastic panel at the front for abdominal support, generally upright bones or stays in said panel, and fabric sections extending from the side edges of said panel, said panel being so stitched to the girdle body at a few spaced points that the panel is in slack condition when the girdle is in contracted condition, thereby allowing for stretch of the girdle.

2. A knit elastic girdle having waist control means thereon, said Waist control means being an inelastic belt-like member of substantial Width at the front, said belt-like member being secured to the girdle at the'front of the girdle with a substantial portion of said member disposed above the top edge of the girdle, releasable means at the back for adjusting the circumferential dimension of the belt-like member, said belt-like member comprising a substantially inelastic rubberized reducing panel at the front, generally upright bones or stays in said panel, and comparatively thin, ilexible fabric sections extending from the side edges of said panel, said panel being stitched to the girdle body at spaced points so selected that the panel being in slack condition when the girdle is in unstretched or contracted condition.

3. A tubular knit elastic girdle having Waist control means thereon, said waist control means being an inelastic belt-like member of substantial Wdth at the front and tapering to narrow ends at the back, releasable means at the back for adjusting the circumferential dimension of the belt-like member, said belt-like member comprising a substantially inelastic panel at the iront, said panel being made of a rubber reducing fabric, the waist line of the girdle being cut down at the front to expose a greater portion of the abdomen to the reducing fabric, generally upright bones or stays in said panel, comparatively thin, liexible fabric sections secured to the side edges of said panel, said panel being so stitched to the girdle body that the panel is in slack condition when the girdle is in contracted condition.

MARTIN' GOODMAN.

DAVID LANCE. 

